♪ >> the boardwalk. an iconic part of many vacations. with the memorial day weekend hours away, the boardwalk in new jersey is open for business after being decimated by super storm sandy seven months ago. governor chris christie set a world record, cutting a five-mile ribbon of open beaches for the season travel additionally it takes states nearly two years to recover. things along the jersey shore, however, are moving along a little faster because tourism is so vital to the survival of these towns. 96% of state beaches and nearly all the boardwalks in the state are open. unfortunately though, that's not the case for every shore town. cnbc's reporter is in ortly

beach, new jersey, a short mile from seaside heights where the iconic roller coaster fell into the ground. we still see the damaged homes behind you. how is the recovery going there? >> reporter: it is slow going by what you can tell. as far as the entire jersey shore, i they've really taken accuse from field of dream. if you build it, they will come. they started with seaside heights among them to drive the patrons to bolster the economy following the storm. seaside heights, the boardwalk is good as news. the buildings and the store fronts have brand new facades in hopes that more and more vacation letters come out and spend more money at the shores. it is big business in new jersey. no doubt they need to restore it. tourism is the third largest industry in the garden state. $38 billion in sales across all vendors. $4 billion in change in tax revenue. those numbers expected to be slightly down this summer because of a dent in the tourism industry. the problem, there aren't a lot

of places for people to stay. sleepier vacation towns often house the vacation homes where renters and vacationers would come and stay. 300 houses here in ortley beach are waiting to be torn down. the recovery process is still slow going. the good news, a poll from amp aa found 79% of vacationers would come to the jersey shore regardless of super storm sandy. it didn't color their view of whether they would vacation here. the problem is as you can see from the housing inventory, there might not be enough places for them to stay. >> enjoy the shore. hopefully the rain won't wipe out your entire memorial day weekend. weather channel meteorologist kelly cass knows which areas to avoid. >> it looks like the first half of memorial day weekend will be the part that will be not so nice with cloudy skies, rain,

even cold enough temperatures to support snow across the higher elevations. the adirondacks, we had some sleep in binghamton toward the green mountains of vermont. killington is offering free skiing this weekend if you want to take advantage of that. we are going to be tracking some accumulating snow across those higher elevations. otherwise for the rest us from albany to new york to boston, it will be cool and wet. definitely below average for this time of year. check out new york city on saturday. rain showers, a high temperature of only 56 degrees. fortunately, we can salvage the second half of the weekend. sunday and monday look better for you. in the meantime across the middle of the country, tracking some unsettled weather here as well. showers, thunderstorms, the twin cities toward kc being impacted. for chicago, saturday and sun, wet. but monday looks much better for those outdoor barbecues across the south. high pressure is our friend. delivering us beautiful weather from charlotte to atlanta. all the way down toward new orleans. the beaches, they will be beckoning with those high

temperatures in the 80s and here's a look at atlanta. sunshine saturday, sunday, yes. we're going to do three out of three for atlanta, georgia. beautiful weather through monday. and across the west, it will be heating up in the southwest. tomorrow's high in phoenix, 100 degrees. but still, watching out for some unsettled conditions. especially in seattle and portland. >> thanks very much for that update. will the weather keep americans put for the weekend? that is the big question as we look at the traffic from coast to coast. that is the 110 freeway in l.a. on the left and laguardia airport on the right. according to trip adviser, a third of all american families plan on traveling this weekend. that is a 6% increase from last year. i hope they have a little patience on the road. the good news is that gas prices are going down. yes! you heard that right. a gallon of regular is now a few cents cheaper than last year. by july, prices should fall below $3.40.

we want to bring in trip adviser.com expert, brook, we heard jonathan talking earlier about the fact the jersey shore was officially opened. ceremonially for business for this weekend this morning by governor chris christie. so that with willie geist on the "today" show. >> he can say this as a jersey guy, the jersey shore is in your heart. so to see this back reopened means everything to our state. >> so brook, obviously a really important weekend for the jersey shore. how are things looking for them there? >> certainly the tourism industry is incredibly important to new jersey. what a testament to all the local communities. the beachfront communities in new jersey that they're now prepared for travelers. and certainly it seem like it will be a busy summer season and a busy memorial day. and cape may is a great destination, always among most

popular destinations on trip adviser. >> brook, krystal showed in the graphic that's gas prices are going down. $3.65 on average. that's down a whole lot since 2011. now, your own survey of folks going on memorial day vacation, 93% say that the lower gas prices won't have any impact on their vacation plans this weekend. but you say that these lower gas prices will have a major impact on what people do for the summer overall. as the summer goes on. is that right? >> yes. it is clear americans are bullish on summer travel. 86% according to the trip adviser survey say they'll be hitting the road, taking a vacation this summer and taking those summer trips. that's up 6% from one year ago. so you know, despite the weather, despite all the different factors that might be affecting travelers, they're ready to get out and take those trips in the summer.

>> for this weekend in particular, new jersey or oklahoma, the storms we showed in the northeast work weather just top of mind for a lot of americans around the country. are some expected to just stay put and say i'm not risking it? i will stay home this weekend? >> that's not what i would expect. i think americans are ready to kick off the summer season with memorial day. they're ready to take those trips. with 30% planning to hit the road and 56% planning to drive you can expect a busy day on the roads tomorrow and tonight. certainly in terms of planning, hope isn't a strategy. what travelers need to do is plan that extra time for delays and really be pleasantly surprised when things actually do run on time. and the best tool you can have with you is your patience. >> patience and maybe an ipod. >> i am nine months pregnant so i hope to live vicariously through your next question.

what are some of the favorite beverages for this memorial day weekend? >> yes. about half of americans will be cooking out this memorial day weekend. i can almost smell the grill already. i'm getting excited. margaritas are the number one beverage, according to travelers, followed by beer and then iced tea. so how about yours? what is your favorite beverage? >> at the moment, iced tea is about the strongest i can go to. i have to say that ice cream lobster fried seafood that we were showing on the screen, it looks like it is all together. that looks incredible to me. i'll take one of those, please. anything else we should know going into this weekend? >> i think it is important for travelers to be prepared and be patient. if you can leave a couple hours early, you'll be better off. those travelers really flexible with your travel schedule. if you can leave late at night or early in the morning, you might beat some of that rush.

>> thanks so much and enjoy the weekend. you saw the president's controversial defense policy speech yesterday. how is it landing 24 hours later? there is much more "the cycle" ahead. [ lisa ] my name's lisa, and chantix helped me quit. i honestly loved smoking, and i honestly didn't think i would ever quit. [ male announcer ] along with support, chantix (varenicline) is proven to help people quit smoking. it reduces the urge to smoke. it put me at ease that you could smoke on the first week. [ male announcer ] some people had changes in behavior, thinking or mood, hostility, agitation, depressed mood and suicidal thoughts or actions while taking or after stopping chantix. if you notice any of these stop taking chantix and call your doctor right away. tell your doctor about any history of depression or other mental health problems, which could get worse while taking chantix. don't take chantix if you've had a serious allergic or skin reaction to it. if you develop these stop taking chantix

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before any strike is taken, there must be near certainty that no civilians will be killed or injured. the heist standard we can set. but once we commit to a process

of closing gitmo, i am confident this legacy problem can be resolved. consistent with our commitment to the rule of law. >> it was the speech that still has us talking today. president obama setting out to clarify his position on two very thorny issues in the war on terror. the use of those secret drone strikes, sometimes on american citizens, and the fate of the prison at guantanamo bay which candidate obama promised to close in the first 100 days in office. this is the spin cycle. i'm going to do a little highway robbery. rachel maddow played this a few days ago on her show. >> if the government grabs you, then you have the right to at least ask why was i grabbed and say maybe you got the wrong

person. you know, the reason you have that safeguard is because we don't always have the right person. we don't always catch the right person. >> that was 2008 when then candidate obama was talking about why we don't just kill suspected terrorists without trying to capture them first d interrogate them and find out if they did what we think they did. it is obvious, his mind has changed a bit on this. he has evolved on this issue and i think part of that is natural when you come into the presidency. there is a reality that you can't avoid. stuff you didn't know before you were president. luckily, you know, i think a lot of us are trying to focus on those constitutional protections that exist so that regardless of whether or not a president changes his mind, there are certain things that can't be avoided. the other thing that really struck me and resonated from the speech yesterday was it seemed like the president was having a lot of argument that's no one

else was having. seemed to be littered with straw men. take a look. >> to do nothing in the face of terrorist networks would invite far more civilian casualties. not just in our cities at home and our facilities abroad but also in the very places like kabul and mogadishu. >> you know, we've been having this conversation about drones and terrorism for a long time. i have yet to hear from anyone who says we should do nothing about terrorism abroad. another argument also that we shouldn't put boots on the ground all over the world. i've not heard anyone suggest we should put boots on the ground all over the world to combat terrorism either. so i think to defend a still very unaccountable drone program, the president was having a lot of arguments yesterday with nobody. >> well, s.e., first of all, any time you want to quote rachel

maddow, that's fine with me. i'm cool with that any time you want to do that. >> he talked about boots on the ground and how that also leads to civilian casualties. he also went into a lot of detail about why a special forces operation like what was used successfully to take out osama bin laden was not a good option in all but some exceptional circumstances. so he did cover a range of the other possibilities. for me, and this is to your point, s.e., a lot of us to the left and the right have been trying to get into the president's head and to reconcile the man that he was when he did run against george w. bush's and the excesses of the neo conservative policies and the constitutional law professor to reconcile that image of him with a commander in chief who has been very aggressive in going after terrorists in expanding the drone program. and i think that he let us

inside his head on this more than we've ever seen. and it reflected a lot of deep both strategic and moral calculations. one of the lines that struck me the most is where he talked about civilian deaths and he said they will haunt us as long as we live as we're haunted by the civilian casualties that have occurred throughout conventional fighting in afghanistan and iraq. so very honest and raw about how difficult this has been for him. the other thing that should be go unnoticed is throughout our history and certainly since world war ii, the executive branch. the president and the executive branch have grabbed more and more power and that is democrats and republicans alike. and certainly, perhaps, the most aggressive grab of executive branch power occurred under george w. bush. it is remarkable that this president in this speech is curtailing his own power. it is not being forced on him by congress. it is not being forced on him by

the courts. he is himself limiting the power of the executive branch. that's incredibly rare. almost unprecedented. that nature of the speech is really incredible and not to be forgotten. >> that's something, the president doing that. the presidents reach out for more. he is pulling back. the next president will be someone who will probably expand outward again. >> he may take it right back. >> i want to talk about something else. the president tried to thread the needle a bit in his speech. can we play that? >> as commander-in-chief, i believe we must keep information secret that protects our operations and our people in the field. to do so, we must enforce consequences for those who break the law and breach their commitment to protect classified information. but a free press is also essential for a democracy. that's who we are. and i am troubled by the

possibility that leak investigations may chill the investigative journalism that holds government accountable. journalists should not be at legal risk for doing their jobs. our focus must be on those who break the law. >> the president was talking about this because of what we learned last week with the justice department sweeping subpoenas of phone records of reporters at the associated press. so that led to a big conversation about the role of journalism, journalists, the role of whistle blowers and folks in government who are handing this information out to reporters. and there is this tension here between the president has to defend national security but reporters have an obligation to report the truth. the president went further in his speech, calling for a media shield law which is something that, you know, congress has been trying to do for at least five years or so.

and has gone nowhere. and the media shield law would have done nothing to protect the associated press against the department of justice in this case. the president went on to say something else in that speech. that is, he has ordered attorney general eric holder to review d.o.j.'s policies vis-a-vis these leak investigations. something else to remember is they are investigating because of a clamor on capitol hill to learn how all these thing that we've learned, how they've made their way into the press. and what the president wants attorney general holder to do is to convene, say, a commission or a roundtable with news organizations where the news organizations can tell the attorney general what their concerned are when it comes to reporting national security. and again, what happened to the associated press could not have been prevent by a media shield law. >> i think this is an area where

it sounded good, what he said. it is an encouraging step forward and we will see if there's real action in that regard. >> you know, krystal, i think you bring up a fascinating point about expansion of presidential powers. it is not something i've thought about recently. i think it is something we should spin on. i think there are clearly areas where you're right that he is pulled back in executive power. i can think of a few places where it seems like he has expanded that. >> absolutely. >> a great segment. we should spin on that. >> we should get into that more. i think you're right. there are definitely areas where he has grabbed power for himself. these are the ways that we'll step it back. i think it is remarkable and notable. so we'll talk more. >> i like the point. let's talk about it more sometime.

coming up, just when you think it is over. the latest stunner in the jodi arias trial. uh, i'm in a timeout because apparently

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we the jury unanimously find having considered all of the facts and circumstances that the defendant should be sentenced, no unanimous agreement. signed foreperson. >> this was not your typical trial. you were asked to perform very difficult responsibilities. >> after months of evidence, arguments, tales and testimony, last night finally the fate of jodi arias was decided. or not. the jury dead locked an 8-4 split in favor of the death penalty. the judge was forced to declare a mistrial. so what now? we bring in diana alvear who has

been following all the action. >> reporter: right until the very end this was a trial full of twists and turns. we were not expecting that yesterday. everybody thought a decision had been received. when we found out it was a hung jury, shock on everybody's faces. i immediately looked at the jury box and i could see the jurors were very emotional. a couple were crying and one mouthed to the prosecutor, i'm sorry. and then i look at the travis alexander family. many sobbing, of course. they quickly left the courtroom. jodi arias herself seemed stunned. if you were wondering why her family was not there in the courtroom we found out there you an exclusive statement from her mom, they didn't even know that a decision had been reached. she said she was very disappointed. she said they should have been told. she said this whole thing has taken a toll on them emotionally and financially and she said they will stand by jodi through the next phase of the trial. what is next? they will only retry the penalty phase of the trial. that means they have to find a new jury.

an untainted jury pool. this case has been all over the headlines. this will be a really tough task to do now. they're hoping to start things off in july but it will take a lot of time and taxpayer money to get this show on the road again. >> could you put us in the courtroom again when the decision was handed out? was there order in the court? i know you mentioned there was sobbing and crying. was i had so audible that the judge had to restore order? >> reporter: there was a gasp. if you heard her read out what had been decided, you hear them start to say sentence and then she corrects herself and said there's been no unanimous decision. we all went, what? you could tell everybody was really shocked. i can tell you this has played so well in social media. people have been avid followers. they tweet about it all the

time. the majority opinion on the twitter sphere was that she would get the death sentence. a lot of people were stunned. this resonated around the world when they found out that it is not over. the saga continues. we'll be back here again in july. some wow, thanks very much. so as we just heard in theory, the next move is to pick a new 12-member jury and let them decide whether arias should be put to death or live in prison. given the massive am of attention this case has seized from the american public, where do you even find a new crop of impartial jurors? for more on the process going forwardering with bring in jury consultant richard gabriel. he is president of decisions analysis incorporated and of the american society of child consultants foundation. thank you for being here. >> thanks. >> so i'm going to ask you this question. where do you then begin to find a jury that is going to be able

to do the functions of the penalty phase here? >> well, there is actually a step that even goes before that. what is significant about yesterday, when you have one to two holdouts, the prosecutors automatically refile. they'll do this. when you have four jurors who have said, no, we're not going to vote for death penalty. they have to take a real bic step back and say can we prove this case? they know it will take a tremendous amount of energy and time and budget to retry this case. they have to talk to travis' family and say, look. we need you to come in on this and testify in this incredibly wrenching testimony of are you guys up for that? so there's a lot of discussion about even within the office about whether they should refile this and whether they should do it or whether they should take the death penalty off the table. but to get to your question about finding a jury, again, enormously difficult.

not only have people heard about it so widely but have very strong opinions. mostly in favor of that, she is guilty and she probably deserves death. it is tremendously difficult for all the parties. >> to that point, should the death penalty have been put on the table in the first place? and let me be clear. this is a heinous and horrific crime. there are a lot of murders committed in this country where the convicted murderer does not end up receiving the death penalty. would she be facing the death penalty at all if it were not for the high profile nature of this case and the fact the public has weighed in and decided what they want to see here. >> there is no denying that this was an incredibly cruel and heinous crime. but if you talk to jurors in death penalty cases, and i've done a number of them. jurors really reserve death penalty in the category of

really mass murderers and also, killers of children. or extensively really, what is difficult and i think some of the research shows this. is that when you have a boyfriend or a husband typically that death penalty is not brought. especially against a woman. you have to remember, only 2% of all death penalty convictions are of women. when it falls into a domestic category, a lot of times it doesn't fit the death penalty category. a lot of time this wouldn't have been brought as a death penalty case. >> the jury foreman was on "good morning america" this morning. i want to play something he said and then take a listen. >> when i walked in the courtroom the first time and looked at who the defendant was, you know, it is hard to put that in perspective. when you look at a young woman and think of the crime and then you see the brutality of the crime. it just doesn't wash. >> richard, you said that it

wouldn't surprise you if all or most of the life votes were men. obviously the jury foreman is a man. tell me what you mean by that. >> if you take a look at i, traditionally women are much harsher judges of other women. what you heard this jury foreperson describe is a februa phenomenon that there is a complete mismatch. it is hard for a lot of men to imagine how this young woman who seemingly on the surface looks like a young innocent woman. it is hard to make the leap to say i can see that viciousness without that connection there. it is often time hard to do it. the other thing that i thought was very interesting in this interview this morning, was the fact that he said that he thought there was abuse in the relationship between travis and jodi. that means from our perspective, that is a thing called residual

doubt. jurors say it will be hard to put her to death if i have some doubt about really whether this was a first-degree murder or not. so that's another thing that i thought was interesting that played out in the interview. >> richard gabriel, thank you for being with us. straight ahead, a much less controversial military speech this morning as the president addressed graduates at the naval academy and welcomed the next generation of service members. for every military man and woman, there is a family making their service possible. we'll talk to the wife of a navy pilot about the reality of a life standing by. next.

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we all finalize our plans for a long weekend of beaches and barbecues, let's not forget why we have a day off. it is a day to remember all the men and women who have died serving in our military. and also a time to honor those around the globe defending our

country right now. this morning the president highlighted those sacrifices while addressing the graduating class of 2013 at the u.s. naval academy. >> today we salute all the americans who made the ultimate sacrifice in these wars including 18 graduates of this academy. we honor them all. now and forever. so class of 2013, i cannot promise you a life of comfort and ease for you have chosen an ancient path. the profession of arms which carries all the perils of our modern world. just as classes before you could not know they would find themselves at coral sea or midway or fallujah or helmond, we cannot know where your service will carry you. >> while troops face danger on the front lines, their families face their own quiet battles at hole. from children acting out to

trying to find a job and the complex benefits process. joining us to talk about the all too common problems they go through, the mother of two young children and the author of standing by. the making of an american military family in a time of war. a story about what it is like for the families when loved ones leave for battle. thank you for being with us. >> thank you for your attention to military families. >> absolutely. i've gotten through part of the book. it is incredibly moving. you have great very personal stories. the one that grabbed me right out of the gates is flat daddy. tell me about flat daddy. >> as background, i didn't have any military family upbringing. some of my first memories of being pushtd in the stroller in the anti-war rallies in the early '70s where my parents were students. i didn't know anyone in the military. i didn't have any sense of how to live this life so other military spouses really help me and drew me into the community.

so when my husband was deployed and the kids were having a hard time, i heard about flat daddy which was a life size cardboard cutout of the service member who is deployed. you send them a picture and they send it back to you. you help the kids pretend that daddy never left. you take it with you to the library or restaurants or in their bedroom at night. and it was a pretty spectacular failure. it didn't work out. no. but we tried a lot of different things. other military spouses had great ideas for me that did work. this was just one that it it failed because my kids didn't fall for the fact that a cardboard cutout could stand in for the father that they loved of that's fair enough. >> absolutely. >> when people think of military spouses left behind, they think of women. but there are women out there on the front lines in battlefields

in the military, leaving families behind. i'm wondering, what has been the reaction from men to what you're doing and to your book? >> it is funny that you mention male spouses. they play a really big low in mill spouse advocacy. the outgoing military spouse of the year that was named by military spouse magazine is a man, jeremy hilton whose wife is an air force officer and he is a former naval officer also. he has chiled the cause of special needs children. what insurance should be doing for special needs children. so they're out. there they're on front lines and i'm really honored to know them. i think they have a much harder pat than us. they don't have the same opportunities that we do as military spouses. >> you talked about growing up in madison, wisconsin and not really knowing anyone in the mit. and folks in my generation, because of the past two wars, we

almost all know someone who is currently serving or has served. what is something that we might not know about life in a military family that you really think we should? >> well, one thing i did not know growing up as i said, really ignorant of military families. i had a lot of stereo types. i figured military member were robots who followed orders and their spouses were stepford wives buff military families are as diverse as the rest of the country. they're republicans, democrats, all religions, i mentioned the military spouse of the year award. one of the installation awards went to two female spouses. the female spouse of a female officer at ft. bragg. so military spouses are incredibly unique. you can't make any generalizations about them. and that was the biggest lesson for me since i married into the military. >> in addition to your book you've been writing about the

impact of the sequester on military families for a time of tell us about what we need to know there. >> i call military families the canaries in the coal mine of the sequester. because military families are really feeling the brunt of these cuts first. i think people thought it wouldn't be that big of a deal, especially after the fax cuts were brushed to the side because the right people spoke up. everyone was inconvenienced by airline delays. and they don't exist anymore. but it is not like that for military families. we cannot speak up in the same kinds of numbers so for example, their offices, personal property offices, when you have to move, that's where you go. and the offices are based on very big bases like ft. belvoir in the d.c. area. you don't have guidance or the support you need. the other big problem is that military schools around the world, the teachers are being furloughed there. and that affects the

accreditation of these military schools which hurts the kids trying to get into college. thank you for writing the book. we appreciate you coming on. >> thank you so much. all right. and i want to send out a quick congratulations to my friend lorenzo santos who is among those graduating today from the naval academy class of 2013. up next, a look back at world war ii and the leadership of fdr. ♪ [ female announcer ] from more efficient payments. ♪ to more efficient pick-ups. ♪ wireless is limitless. ♪ ♪

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for the record, i do not believe it would be constitutional for the government to target and kill any u.s. citizen with a drone or a shotgun without due process. but when a u.s. citizen goes abroad to wage war against america, and is actively plotting to kill u.s. citizens, his citizenship should no more serve as a shield than a sniper shooting down on an innocent crowd should be protected from a s.w.a.t. team. >> and you thought your job was tough. president obama doing his best to clarify the administration's drone policy during a major speech in washington this week. he is not the first president to have to explain a controversial decision. he certainly won't be the last. how does history put those choices in context? franklin delano roosevelt was widely remembered for the new deal but he is also known for

controversial compromises when it came to world war ii. compromises that have shaped his legacy good and bad. his defenders praise him for crushing nazi germany but others accused him of turning his back on the jews of hitler's europe. could both sides be right? or are both sides wrong? joining us now, the u.s. presidential historian and professor at american university. he is co-author of the new book, fdr and the jews. first, describe for me fdr's complicated history with the jews and why you felt compelled to write this book? >> well, you said it in part. both sides are wrong. fdr was neither a bystander or worse to the persecution and slaughter of jews. nor was he the savior of jews. you've got to understand fdr was a humane but ultimately pragmatic politician. he wouldn't have gotten elected

politician four time had he not been. so the real story of fdr and the news which is an epic story is how did this president weave his way through competing priorities at a time of the world's worst depression, the crisis i of the 1930s, and this bloody war. it is a complicated story and an awesome story. >> and one of the specific issues that the critics of fdr cite, they say he could have blown up the rail lines to auschwitz in order to save a lot of jewish people there. what did you find in that regard? >> well, we found a lot of things. number one this issue of bombing the rail lines or even the crematoriums themselves in auschwitz was a nonissue at the time. it wasn't being pressed by any main stream jewish leaders, the jewish press. there were big ral business didn't mention it. it only came into play decades

later. secondly we couldn't reach the rail lines until mid 1944 when largely the holocaust had run its had run its course. thirdly, what the military said was you can try bombing the rail lines and the germans could rebuild them in a matter of days or even a matter of hours. more serious was the idea of bombing auschwitz, itself, which was reachable. and we said, in our book, that we thought it should have been tried, but it would not have fundlily changed the holocaust. it came late. and even if precision bombing, which is very uncertain, had destroyed auschwitz, the sad story of the holocaust is the germans were infinitely resourceful when it came to killing jews. they killed hundreds of thousands of jews before they set up the death camp, and hundreds of thousands of jews afterwards. moreover, roosevelt never made this decision. we found no evidence that it

ever reached his desk. it was decided by a lower level officials whose standard line was we will not divert any resources from the goal of winning the war as quickly as possible, and that is the best way of saving the jews. >> alan, let me ask you. am i wrong in thinking that ever since president roosevelt, american presidents have lived in fear of the harsh judgment that he has faced vis-a-vis his actions or inactions during world war ii and saving or not saving the jews? >> yeah. it's become, you know, a very political issue. you know, strong advocates for israel want to hold up fdr as an example of what happens when you don't put aiding the jews very high on your priority list. the sad truth is, look at subsequent presidents who had the lessons of the holocaust before them, who had vastly more power than fdr. our army was smaller than belgium's during most of the 1930s.

what did jimmy cartoer, the gret humanitarian, do? what did bill clinton do to stop the genocide in rwanda? somehow the lessons of the holocaust have not sunk in in a very clear way. the issue of humanitarian intervention abroad remains a controversial and contested one today, as illustrated by libya and syria. president obama goes into libya partly on humanitarian grounds. he gets criticized from the right. he gets criticized from the left. he doesn't go into syria. what happens, he gets criticized from the right. he gets criticized from the left. >> well, alan, take a position on that. i think there are very good lessons to learn from those arguments that we waited too long to intervene in world war ii. what should we learn? what should the president be linking about as he perseverates over what to do in syria?

>> i think syria is a vast humanitarian crisis and i think president obama will be in for a lot of criticism just like franklin roosevelt has been for not acting early enough, at least in some ways to try to stem the bloodshed and stem the violence there. on roosevelt, though, the ultimate judgment we came up with is this. roosevelt did not do everything that was perfect for the jews, but he was far better for the jews than his isolationist political opposition at home. it's always easier to be a political opponent. and he was better for the jews than any other world leader including winston churchill who spoke big and did little. and he was better mostly than subsequent presidents. that's the bottom line. >> fascinating stuff. alan, thank you. >> my pleasure. up next, the boy scouts change i policy on gay scouts. capehart's commentary on that talker and what it says about how far we have and haven't come, next. [ female announcer ] doctors trust calcium plus vitamin d

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call... today. liberty mutual insurance -- responsibility. what's your policy? this has been an incredible year for gay rights. support for same-sex marriage is the highest it's ever been. 58% according to the latest "washington post" poll. since november, six states have legalized same-sex marriage. three of them this month, alone. and one of them was minnesota whose voters last november rejected an amendment to the state's constitution to ban it last november.

that was a first. another first, jason collins, the basketball player, became the first male professional athlete to come out of the closet. another first. senator rob portman of ohio became the first sitting republican senator to come out for gay marriage. his stunning change of heart was due to his son's coming out of the closet. portman's revelation then led to a parade of senators declaring their support for marriage equality. today, a majority of the u.s. senate is in favor of allowing loving and committed same-sex couples to enjoy all the rights and responsibilities that are true to marriage. then there's the supreme court which heard arguments in two cases that could end the so-called defense of marriage act and california's state constitutional ban on same-sex marria marriage. but for all those amazing steps forward in the march to lgbt equality, we have witnessed a few stunning steps backward in just the last seven days. one week ago tonight, mark carson was murdered because he was gay. right here in new york city in the heart of greenwich village,

the capital of gay america. on wednesday, senate judiciary chairman patrick leahy reluctantly pulled a provision from the immigration reform bill that would have allowed americans to sponsor their same-sex foreign born spouses for green cards. he did so because republicans vowed to kill the entire immigration reform bill if it stayed in the legislation. then on thursday, the boy scouts of america voted to allow gay boys to be a part of the scouts, but the organization retained its prohibition on adults being scout leaders. now, all of these things remind us that the march for equality doesn't follow a linear path. no, that path is littered with obstacles that require retreat and detours, but marches are all about forward motion. the key is to not be deterred by the discouraging and disheartening things that happen along the way. two steps forward and one step back still leaves you one step ahead of where you once were. okay. that does it for "the cycle." martin, it's all yours. thank you, jonathan. good afternoon, it's friday may

the 24th, and on this memorial day weekend, it is fighting season on all fronts for the commander in chief. ♪ >> wonderful people of oklahoma. they have suffered mightily. the new laughter will come, new songs will be sung. we have to make decisions based not on fear, but on hard-earned wisdom. homegrown extremists. this is the future of terrorism. to say military tactic is legal or effective is not to say it's wise or moral. a free press is essential for our democracy. victory will be measured in parents taking their kids to school, immigrants coming to our shores, a citizen shouting her concerns at a president. i'll keep fighting to end those foolish across the board budget cuts, the sequester, which is threatening our readiness. even in our military, we've seen how the misconduct of some threaten the trust and discipline that makes our military strong.